The 1899 Moorish Zionist Temple founded (3 decades) after the United States Civil War

“In 1899 Leon Richlieu established the Moorish Zionist Temple in Brooklyn. Rabbi Richlieu, as he was called, maintained that he was of Ethiopian origin and that his congregation was composed of black Jews from Palestine and norther Africa.”

West Africa Year: 1743. This great Historic Map print shows ancient “Aethiopia included West Africa from Gabon in the south to Niger, Mali, and Mauritania in the north. The Tribes of Judah and Benjamin fled from The Land of Judah in 70 A.D. to the West Coast of Africa and Spain.

Rabbi Mordecai Herman has been memorialized on the streets of Jerusalem — a Jewish homecoming for a forgotten religious figure.

“Mr. M. Shapiro, a mild mannered Jewish businessman, stopped to chat a few moments with his kosher butcher. The butcher was chuckling: “Funny thing,” he explained, “Some colored people came in this morning and wanted some kosher meat. Real negro people from up in Harlem. They say they are Jews!” He laughed.”

Source: The New York Sun January 29, 1929

“Rabbi W.M. Matthew is celebrating his sixteenth year as head of the Commandment Keepers, the Harlem Jewish sect….In defense of his program, Rabbi Matthews explains that the philosophy of the Jews is to acquire wealth and command respect….Rabbi Matthew is certain that the sooner the black man is imbued with this philosophy, the sooner will come the race’s forward movement.”

Source: The Afro-American February 8, 1936

1855 Antique Palestine Israel Map – Ancient Jerusalem

In the early decades of the twentieth century, there appeared in New York and other American cities a set of unusual religious congregations which came to be known as the Black Jews. African in ancestry, Jewish in faith, these groups claimed to be the direct and true heirs of ancient Israel. Although they did not forge strong ties with the wider African American or Jewish communities, they drew steady interest from both…

“A possible genealogical connection to African American Islam can also be seen, especially in the advent of the black Jewish congregations that were called “Moorish,” similar to the immediate forerunner of the Nation of Islam, the Moorish Science Temple, a black Islamic sect founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1913. In 1899 Rabbi Leon Richlieu established the Moorish Zionist Temple in Brooklyn, and in 1921 Mordecai Herman or Mordecai Joseph reformed the Moorish Zionist Temple in Harlem, with affiliate branches in Newark and Philadelphia. See Shapiro, “Factors in the Development of Black Judaism,” p. 266, and Landes, “The Negro Jews of Harlem,” p. 181.”

“A similar group, the Moorish Zionist Temple, which was more exclusively Judaic in its beliefs, was founded by Rabbi Leon Richlieu of Brooklyn, New York, in 1899. Richlieu claimed to be of Ethiopian origin, to have been ordained by three rabbis, and to have studied in an Orthodox yeshiva. The group later reformed under the leadership of Mordechai Herman, who set up branches in Philadelphia and in Newark, New Jersey.”

“The History of African Jews, one of the most understudied chapters in African history, would extend back to the days of king Solomon…. By the eighth century there were communities of Jews in most major oases on the desert edge such as Sijilmasa, Tu’at, Gurara, Ghadamis, Sus, and Wadi Nun ” (Lydon, Ghislaine, 2009, p. 66). ‘” The so-called Maghreb jews were the WaKore and Wa’Kara/Wa’n’Gara. Beriberi, Soninke, “El-Berabir” or the ancient Berbers, and the earliest Jews in Africa were but one people.”

Dana Reynolds Marniche commented in a post on Andalusia that certain groups claimed descent from the Jews and in particular Aaron and Jethro in Tarikh el-Fattach

“The Tuareg Inaden blacksmiths caste who are mostly Soninke in fact claims descent from the Jews of Wargla. Similarly the Wangara/Garawan (Soninke) related groups further west and south had traditions of Jewish origin.

‘In today’s Mauretania, endogamous groups of blacksmiths claim Jewish descent and some oral traditions maintain that it’s early inhabitants, the Bafur, were Jews from Wadi Nun…. Other traditions from Mali document the prevalence of Jews in the pre-Islamic period, some claiming that Maghribi Jews from the Dra’a and the Sus regions shared with the Mande their knowledge of blacksmithing.

The History of African Jews, one of the most understudied chapters in African history, would extend back to the days of king Solomon…. By the eighth century there were communities of Jews in most major oases on the desert edge such as Sijilmasa, Tu’at, Gurara, Ghadamis, Sus, and Wadi Nun ” (Lydon, Ghislaine, 2009, p. 66). ‘”

The so-called Maghreb jews were the WaKore and Wa’Kara/Wa’n’Gara.Beriberi, Soninke, “El-Berabir” or the ancient Berbers, and the earliest Jews in Africa were but one people. They were the people of the Niger bend, and many parts of West Africa, i.e. the Negro. Believe it, – or do not!”

Genetic tests carried out by British scientists have revealed that many of the Lemba tribesmen in southern Africa have Jewish origins, according to a report by the BBC. The Lemba, a tribe of 70,000 to 80,000 members who live in central Zimbabwe and northern South Africa, have customs which are similar to Jewish ones: Lemba refrain from eating pork or other foods forbidden by the Torah, or forbidden combinations of permitted foods, wear yarmulke-like skull caps, conduct ritual animal slaughter, have a holy day once a week, and even put a Star of David on their gravestones. According to their oral tradition, the Lemba are descended from seven Jewish men who left Israel 2,500 years ago and married African women, according to the BBC. The Lemba prefer their children to marry other Lembas, and marriage to non-Lembas is being discouraged.

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American born Moor, Author, History Researcher, Modernist, 720 Entrepreneur/ Corporate Mogul in the making; who observes & analyzes human nature for data mining purposes. Knowing is Half the Battle, Wisdom is needed for appropriate application of knowledge and right reasoning.

ABOUT US

Murakush Society Inc. is a historical society dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of the Moorish heritage, history, legacy, and culture, We are the guardians of Moorish knowledge and wisdom. Our goal is to establish a Moorish Museum of History and Culture.

MURAKUSH RESEARCH

This section of our website is dedicated informing interested parties of the findings concluded by Murakush derived from research and analysis of several topics and points of interest as it relates to the heritage, history and culture of the Moors.

About us

Murakush Society Inc. is a historical society dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of the Moorish heritage, history, legacy, and culture, We are the guardians of Moorish knowledge and wisdom. Our goal is to establish a Moorish Museum of History and Culture.